Would I Lie To You and Masterchef maker loses more than £50m

The production company behind Masterchef and Would I Lie To You more than doubled its pre-tax loss in 2023 amid a downturn in the UK TV market.

Banijay Media, the UK arm of the wider France-headquartered group, has reported a pre-tax loss of £53.4m for its latest financial year.

The latest total comes after the business posted a pre-tax loss of £24.9m in 2022.

Newly-filed accounts with Companies House also show its revenue fell from £321.1m to £294.7m over the same 12-month period.

London-headquartered Banijay is also behind shows such as SAS Rogue Heroes, Shardlake, Grantchester and Bad Education as well as Hunted, Survivor, Total Wipeout and the revival of Big Brother.

‘Challenging’ TV market for Big Brother maker

The business said the fall in its revenue was because of a downturn in the UK TV market in 2023, “coupled with some cyclical fluctuation as a result of scripted productions which have multi-year production cycles”.

It added that the UK TV market “continues to be challenging, with customers maintaining pressure on license fees paid for both new and returning commissions”.

A statement signed off by the board said: “The success of the group is dependent on the successful selling and production of television programmes and the recruitment and retention of key talent in order to achieve this aim.

“As part of its growth strategy, the group continues to diversify its portfolio of customers to take advantage of opportunities available, both in linear and non-linear broadcast channels.

“The success of the group is dependent on the subsidiaries achieving the aims detailed above.

“In addition, close monitoring of programme profit margins, as well as the development of ideas with international sales potential are key to the continuing performance of the group.”

The results come after Banijay snapped up Caryn Mandabach Productions in June 2024.

The company was founded by producer Caryn Mandabach and has also made Nurse Jackie and In With The Flynns.